Ryan Kwanten

Ryan Kwanten was very comfortable in his own skin, much to the delight of millions of viewers who tuned in each week to catch a glimpse of the actor's toned physique on HBO's vampire saga, "True Blood...
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True pop culture connoisseurs are willing to give just about every genre, series, miniseries, director or film a try. But even though they're just as excited for the new Marvel movie as they are the latest indie from Richard Linklater, or watch both Breaking Bad and The Bachelorette, there's still one genre that most TV buffs are reluctant to sample. We are, of course, referring to the cooking show, likely the preferred Sunday afternoon programming of your parents. But cooking shows are more than just drawn out recipes from stiff, snobby chefs; they're exciting and interesting and sometimes, even dangerous. In an effort to encourage television fiends to expand their horizons even further, we've pulled together some of our favorites and matched them to their pop culture equivalent, so you can find the show or competition that's right for your appetite. Even if you don't find a new addition to your DVR, at least you've got something new to eat during your next Netflix binge.
If You Like Nancy Meyers’ Movies, Try Barefoot Contessa If you’re watching a Nancy Meyers film, you’re probably someone who appreciates a middle-aged romance, a linen pant and an expensive kitchen. Ina Garten’s show is ostensibly about teaching people how to cook delicious, rustic dishes, but it’s really about her beautiful home in the Hamptons, where’s she always throwing together something in her impeccably designed kitchen for an impromptu – but perfectly designed – get together. And since her husband Jeffrey often wanders in to fawn over her, all it’s really missing is Diane Keaton.
If You Like Scandal, Try Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee On Scandal, Olivia Pope can solve even the most intimidating, impossible-looking presidential problems with efficiency, and spends a significant amount of time contemplating her life while drinking wine in an expensive cardigan. Sandra Lee does the exact same thing on Semi-Homemade, only the problem is how to turn a bunch of processed, canned foods into something that’s even remotely edible. Unlike Olivia, unfortunately, she doesn't always succeed.
If You Like Channing Tatum, Try Anything with Bobby Flay Channing Tatum has carved out a niche in Hollywood by being good-looking and likable, no matter what kind of film he’s in. Comedy, romance, action, it doesn’t matter – you’re not really there for the plot, you just want to watch a Channing Tatum movie. When you want that kind of comfortable entertainment from your cooking shows, turn to Bobby Flay. It doesn’t matter which show you choose. He has a million of them, and they’re all just as likable and inoffensive as the others.
If You Like True Blood, Try Nigella Feasts Chances are you lost track of the plot of True Blood about three seasons ago and are now just tuning in for the sheer amount of skin on display. What’s Joe Manganiello saying? Who cares, just look at him. If you’re looking for a cooking show that will be equally uncomfortable to watch with your parents, you’re looking for Nigella Lawson, who treats food the way the rest of us treat Alexander Skarsgaard and Ryan Kwanten. What’s she making? It doesn’t matter. Just look at it.
If You Like Glee, Try 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray Only a few people have stuck with Glee this long into its run. They’re the kind of people who are willing to ignore just about anything in favor of upbeat dance numbers, familiar characters, and bright colors. They’re also the kind of people who would love 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, another acquired taste. You want questionable dialogue? People talking enthusiastically in the loudest, most theatrical voice possible? Comfortable guilty pleasures? A set designed in shades of tangerine? This is the show for you.
WENN/Carrie Devorah
If You Like Everything Michael Bay's Created, Try Guy’s Big Bite You’re a person with simple tastes: you want loud, explosive action scenes, very little plot, lots of incoherent shouting and as many punching robots as humanly possible. Sure, you might get teased by friends who think they have better sensibilities, but you know you’re not alone in your preferences. Luckily, there’s a cooking show just for you, hosted by the culinary equivalent of Michael Bay – Guy Fieri – in which he makes loud, obnoxious, potentially explosive food that forgoes any kind of subtlety for punching you in the face with flavors.
If You Like True Detective, Try Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown This isn’t a straightforward cooking show, but then True Detective isn’t a straightforward murder mystery show. Both feature a complicated, charming anti-hero with a penchant for foul language, who sets out in search of meaning and mystery. it just so happens that instead of solving a crime, Anthony Bourdian is hunting down obscure delicacies. All of the action, adventure, beautiful cinematography, and potential for weird crushes are still in tact, though. Don’t you worry.
If You Like The Hunger Games, Try Top Chef Do you like televised competitions in which one person must outsmart, outwit, and out-maneuver everyone else, please judges who have the ability to bestow gifts and advantages on them, utilize their individual skills in creative ways, form alliances and teams in order to support one another, all in hte interest of coming out on top? The only difference between The Hunger Games and Top Chef is that nobody dies on the latter. Although, someone did cut off a finger once…
If You Like Harry Potter, Try Jamie Oliver For many people, the Harry Potter series was an introduction to a lifelong love of reading, British culture, fantasy worlds and fandom, among other things. Likewise, Jamie Oliver is often an entryway into the world of cooking shows. He’s handsome and charming, easy to follow, and cooks simple, classic meals with all of the manic enthusiasm of Daniel Radcliffe. The first time you ever saw someone make traditional British food? It was probably Jamie Oliver. Plus, like Harry, he’s the star of an epic series of his own, with somewhere between two and 12 shows airing on some channel at any given time.
If You Like Friday Night Lights, Try Chuck’s Day Off As many Friday Night Lights fans know, sometimes the best programs are the ones very few people are watching, and that’s true of the Cooking Channel show Chuck’s Day Off. In this series, our culinary Tim Riggins, Chuck Hughes, takes us through the process of cooking classic, simple food with his laid-back, good ol' boy charm. At some point, before you’re entirely ready, you’ll be done with all the episodes, feeling empty, hungry, and a little bit in love. And like with Friday Night Lights, you’ll spend a significant amount of time trying to convince your friends to give it a shot, promising it’s “not just about cooking, I promise!”
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HBO
After weeks of watching, re-watching, live-tweeting, recapping, analyzing, and debating, the fourth season of Game of Thrones has finally come to an end, leaving a void in both our hearts and our Twitter feeds. Once the fanfare and discussions about the shocking deaths and the major changes from the books finally die down, we will be faced with an unbearable winter without Westeros. How will we carry on without Dany and her dragons? How can we stay calm when we don’t know what’s happening with Tyrion? How will we survive the long months before we get new episodes?
Well, by watching TV of course. Game of Thrones may have ended, but there are plenty more shows with all of the fantasy, politics, blood and nudity that we have come to rely on David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for, and we don’t even have to wait until next year to enjoy them. We've run down all of the shows airing in 2014 that will help fill the Westeros-sized hole in your heart, and how long you have to wait to get your fix. And if that doesn't work, there's still several thousand pages of George R.R. Martin's writing available for you to read. That should help pass the time.
True Blood How Long We Have To Wait: One week until June 22. What It’s About: The seventh and final season of the Southern vampire drama picks up with most of the characters dead or seemingly dead, an outbreak of Hep-V terrorizing the vampire population and everyone gaining and losing characters quicker than alliances shift on Game of Thrones. How It Will Fill the Void: True Blood and Game of Thrones have two key elements in common: blood and nudity. Expect plenty of both in the upcoming season.Airs: Sundays at 9 PM on HBO.
Tyrant How Long We Have To Wait: A week until June 24.What It’s About: The second son of a dictator leader of a foreign country returns from a self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, and must deal with the conflicts that arise between the culture of his homeland and the US and his oppressive father. How It Will Fill the Void: If you’re looking for political intrigue, culture clashes, a struggle for power and a father/son dynamic reminiscent of Tywin and Tyrion Lannister, this is the show for you.Airs: Tuesdays at 10 PM on FX.
The Leftovers How Long We Have to Wait: Two weeks until June 29.What It’s About: Set two years after 2 percent of the population disappears in the rapture, the series follows the rest of the world as they struggle to understand what happened to their loved ones, and attempt to move forward with their lives. How It Will Fill the Void: Like the White Walkers, the Children, and everything Melisandre is doing with the Lord of the Light, The Leftovers centers on a strange, unexplained supernatural phenomenon, and explores the personal drama that results.Airs: Sundays at 10 PM on HBO.
The Strain How Long We Have to Wait: Four weeks until July 13.What It’s About: Created by Guillermo del Toro, The Strain is about a viral strain that turns people into horrifying, bloodsucking monsters that are terrorizing the population. It’s also based on a trilogy of books by Chuck Hogan, in case you’re all caught up on A Song of Ice and Fire. How It Will Fill the Void: It’s got horror, terror, suspense, excitement, supernatural elements and – we’re assuming – plenty of gore. Plus, it has Walder Frey himself, David Bradley, presumably on a mission to traumatize as many viewers as humanly possible.Airs: Sundays at 10 PM on FX.
Showtime
Masters of Sex How Long We Have to Wait: Four weeks until July 13.What It’s About: The pioneering work on human sexuality done by William Masters and Virginia Johnson in the 1950s. The second season will see Masters and Johnson grow closer, and the challenges it presents their personal and professional relationships. How It Will Fill the Void: All of the nudity and explicit sexual situations, but presented in a way that not only serves a narrative purpose and raises important questions about society and the human body, but also isn’t degrading towards women. What a novel concept!Airs: Sundays at 10 PM on Showtime.
Outlander How Long We Have to Wait: Two months until August 9.What It’s About: Based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon, the series follows Claire, a World War II nurse who is mysteriously sent back in time to the 1700s. There she is forced to marry Jaime Fraiser, a romantic and chivalrous Scottish soldier, and she is torn between two very different lives. How It Will Fill the Void: It’s a sweeping period epic that incorporates sci-fi, adventure, war, and romance that should help you move on from the tragic ending of Jon and Ygritte’s relationship.Airs: Saturdays at 9 PM on Starz.
Sleepy Hollow How Long We Have to Wait: Four months until September 22.What It’s About: The surprise hit of last year centers on Ichabod Crane, who is sent forward in time to 2014, where he solves supernatural crimes with Det. Abbie Mills, and the two of them attempt to stop the apocalypse. How It Will Fill the Void: Witty banter, well-matched partners, a supernatural threat, colorful characters, a spooky witch you should probably be wary of and some truly gruesome crimes – throw in a giant and it’s practically Game of Thrones’ fourth season.Airs: Mondays at 9 PM on Fox.
Gotham How Long We Have to Wait: Indeterminate, although it’s likely to premiere in September or October.What It’s About: Before Bruce Wayne grew up to be Batman, it was Det. Jim Gordon who cleaned up the crime and corruption on the streets of Gotham, even if that meant taking on some super villains of his own. How It Will Fill the Void: Like Ned Stark in King’s Landing, Jim Gordon is a noble man trying to bring justice to the murder, manipulation and scheming that runs amok in the city. Let’s hope he fares a bit better.Airs: Mondays at 8 PM on Fox.
Better Call Saul How Long We Have to Wait: Six months until November. What It’s About: A spinoff of Breaking Bad that focuses on Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman, a lawyer who will do anything to keep his operations running smoothly. How It Will Fill the Void: You’ll probably become addicted to it, just as you were to Breaking Bad, which will help pass the time until Game of Thrones returns. Airs: On AMC, although a night and time hasn’t been revealed yet.
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Monsters and geekery come together in Knights of Badassdom, an upcoming horror/adventure comedy starring Steve Zahn, Ryan Kwanten, and Peter Dinklage.
The film follows Eric (Zahn), a man locked into perma-childhood, who spends his weekends in the woods fighting in "LARP" battles (think a more lively version of Dungeons and Dragons, but outside and with plastic axes). But the role playing gets way too real when Zahn's character accidentally summons a succubus from depths of hell to reign terror on a bunch of guys whose armaments include foam swords, multi-sided dice, and piles of drugs. Now the weekend warriors have to slay the beast for real, and things don't look very promising for the role players.
Entertainment One
Comic veteran Zahn talks about the inspirations that Knights of Badassdom culls from, the joy that comes with dressing like a wizard, and how the use of practical effects gives the film an ooey gooey, old school horror feel.
Knights of Badassdom in select theaters now, and hits VOD and Digital on Feb 11.
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Actress Lizzy Caplan downed vodka first thing in the morning to overcome her nerves before shooting sex scenes on racy vampire TV series True Blood. The Mean Girls star was cast as Ryan Kwanten's love interest in the first series of the hit show, and had to strip off for a series of raunchy shoots during her first few days on set.
Caplan was so terrified, she knocked back booze while completely naked as the make-up artist worked on her.
Speaking to U.S. TV host Chelsea Handler, she recalls, "I was hammered for that. I didn't really have lines the first time. It was like seven in the morning and I was chugging vodka completely naked while a make-up artist I had just met was on her knees in front of me sponging my a**. It's intimate."
The star admits she drank too much and embarrassed herself in front of the crew, adding, "I was so nervous and I was so drunk that after I shot the scene I was going up to the crew members, and I had just met all these people the day before, and I was going up to all of them like, 'You got a boner (erection)! You do! You've got one!' It was horrible. Horrible!"

Against our better judgment and emotional well-being, we became very attached to the characters on Game of Thrones. While no one is safe in the cast and characters get killed off without a second thought, it's reassuring to know these actors get to "live on" in other roles. With a cast made up of largely European and lesser-known actors, it's exciting to see the show take off and propel the careers of these talented and easy-on-the eyes thespians. So until season four returns next March or April, here's where you can find the past and present citizens of Westeros in the meantime.
Peter Dinklage
When he's not strutting the Emmys red carpet, or entrancing children and adults alike on Sesame Street, Peter Dinklage a.k.a Tyrion Lannister will don armor once again in the Knights of Badassdom. The horror comedy film about LARPing (live action role play) was put on the backburner since 2010 but is slated for theatrical release this year. Dinklage will be joined by fellow LARP-enthusiasts Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and the consistenly funny Steve Zahn. Dinklage will also make an appearance in the next X-Men installment, Days of Future Past, the dramedy The Angriest Man in Brooklyn starring Robin Williams and Mila Kunis and will reunite with his GOT onscreen sister, Lena Headey in the upcoming biopic, Low Down, about the famous jazz pianist Joe Albany.
Kit Harrington
It's been a rough year for Jon Snow, with half his family dead and his ginger girlfriend going postal on his ass and shooting him in the back with arrows. But for Kit Harrington, things are shaping up quite nicely with two new movies in the bag — one involves dragons and Julianne Moore (The Seventh Son) while the other features some rock hard abs and a loose interpretation of history (Pompeii) — a winning formula Hollywood can't resist.
Hannah Murray
While our favorite Skins star doesn't nab too much screen time on GOT, her character Gilly will have more a story arc next season now that she left the clutches of the incestuous commune of Craster's Keep. In the meantime, Murray can continue to play manic pixie dream girls in the upcoming musical film, God Help the Girl, written and directed by Belle &amp; Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch about a group of kids making music in Glasgow. Here's a trailer of her other film, Lily &amp; Kat, featuring Murray being the free-spirited wisp she's so good at.
Richard Madden
As the dashing-boy prince Robb Stark, Richard Madden made his GOT exit in one of the most gruesome death scenes in television history. Poor Robb, we hardly knew ya. But lucky for us, Madden hasn't completely abandoned the world of period pieces and fantasy fiction. He skipped the Emmys red carpet to play Prince Charming in the upcoming Cinderella film directed by Kenneth Branagh. Before he charms the glass slipper off of Lily James, he’ll seduce a wealthy married woman in pre-World War I England, played by the impecable Rebecca Hall in the film A Promise.
Emilia Clarke
After burning her enemies to death and taking names, the mother of dragons, played by Emilia Clarke can abandon the blond extensions and form fitting medieval wear for a more natural look. She'll appear in the much buzzed about comedic gangster film, Don Hemingway, starring Jude Law. While we would have pegged her as a love interest, she'll actually be playing the daughter who he tries to repair his relationship with. Let's hope Clarke acting isn't CGI-dependent.
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Kind-hearted True Blood star Kristin Bauer Van Straten is auctioning a signed script from the hit show to help a recently widowed co-star send her kids to college. Adina Porter, who plays Lettie Mae Thornton on the drama, recently lost her husband, and in a bid to help her friend in her hour of need, Bauer van Straten has recruited the rest of the cast to sign an original script to raise cash via an online auction.
The script is autographed by Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Joe Manganiello, Stephen Moyer and Bauer van Straten herself, and is up for sale on eBay.com.
The starting bid for the lot is $500 (£322) and the auction runs until 23 June (13), with proceeds going towards a college fund for Porter's kids.

The war is on. With Tru Blood shortages escalating, Billith's (Stephen Moyer) rampage on all humans in full force, Jason's (Ryan Kwanten) anti-fanger hate reaching a boiling point, and the growing divide between humans and vampires as a result, Season 6 of True Blood is shaping up to be bloodier than the last five, if that's even possible. And we're starting to believe it just might be. Still, the circumstances don't seem to have shifted too much from our last trip to Bon Temps.
HBO released the teaser trailer for the new season, which will pick back up right in the middle the war Billith escalated in the final moments of Season 5. Sadly, our only indication of the ferocity of this oncoming conflict is a muddle of voices, including Bill, Jason, Sookie, and a few nameless newscasters. We do, however, get to become a little more acquainted with that increasingly precious Tru Blood bottle. Am I the only one who didn't realize the logo involved Chinese characters? (A Google excavation reveals, anticlimactically, that they translate to "True Blood." Riveting.)
True Blood returns Sunday, June 16 at 9 PM on HBO.
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Little Gilbert Returns: Your favorite Vampire Diaries heartthrob is rising from the dead — sort of. The dearly departed Jeremy Gilbert, a.k.a. Steven R. McQueen, is returning to Mystic Falls at least one more time before the end of Season 4. But here's the twist: he might not return as Jeremy. There's a chance our beloved Jer could appear as one of the many human forms of immortal terror Silas — or he could come back from the other side if Bonnie ends up lifting the veil separating the supernatural afterlife from mortals. [TVLine]
True Blood Gets Camp-y: Everyone's favorite chipper blonde, Anna Camp, will reprise her role as anti-vampire crusader Sarah Newlin on the upcoming sixth season of True Blood. She'll stick around for a few episodes, no doubt to confront her now-vampire ex-husband Steve (Michaeil McMillian) and possibly her mortal ex-lover Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten). [TVLine]
'90s Nostalgia: ABC Family's '90s-tastic sitcom Melissa &amp; Joey is getting even more nostalgic with the addition of American Pie's Shannon Elizabeth and The Practice's (and Full House's) Marla Sokoloff. Elizabeth stops by in the eighth episode of the upcoming third season as Mel's old college roommate, while Sokoloff will appear in episode seven as a chiropractor who hits on Joe. [The Hollywood Reporter]
The Doctor is In: Hart of Dixie's town doctor Tim Matheson has signed on to play a suspected killer — also a doctor — on the Season 13 finale of CSI, and will return to the show in the Season 14 premiere. His Mr. Tate is a "handsome, sophisticated and highly intelligent Ph.D. and M.D." whom the CSI team suspects in a series of Dante's Inferno-themed murders. Matheson co-stars on The CW's Hart of Dixie as a small-town doctor. [TVLine]
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[Photo Credit: Bob Mahoney/The CW]
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A square-jawed, chisel-faced, blond-locked twenty/thirtysomething actor who isn't Sam Claflin, Ryan Kwanten, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Chris Hemsworth, or Armie Hammer has just been cast as Raphael in the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (titled, simply, Ninja Turtles). I know, even after naming all of those actors, there are still dozens more who it could be. So no more games: the actor in question is Alan Ritchson, who'll also be playing former District 1 tribute turned Quarter Quell contender Gloss in November's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Ritchson's best-known non-Hunger Games role was as Aquaman on Smallville. What a shock that he was on The CW.
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To inhabit Raphael, Ritchson will give an all motion-capture performance, but he'll be interacting with a very much flesh-and-blood Megan Fox as April (with hopefully an emphasis on the flesh). He'll be directed by Jonathan Liebesman, whose previous efforts include helming Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Battle: Los Angeles, and Wrath of the Titans. So, yes, quality is guaranteed.
Do you know who Alan Ritchson is, and can you tell him apart from any of the young Stepford males currently jockeying for roles in Hollywood?
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: The CW]
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We've seen a lot of scary things in Bon Temps over five seasons of True Blood: vampires whose heads do 360-spins when they have sex, the fairy world, Chris Meloni. But so far we haven't seen anything as scary as Rutger Hauer's tangled mass of electrified shock-white hair. It's a hairdo that can only be described as Mark Twain-meets-Albert Einstein. Check it out among three new pics revealed from the set of the HBO vampire drama's sixth season.
RELATED: ‘True Blood’ Season 5 Finale Recap: ‘I’m Melting. Melting!’
Apparently, the Blade Runner actor is playing a new villain named Macklyn. And, I mean, how could any man (or, given the nature of this show, being) who wears a pinstripe smoking jacket and clenches a giant pipe between his teeth not be a villain?
Ryan Kwanten's Jason Stackhouse springs into action with his shotgun. No, he's not springing into action that way. No, "shotgun" is not a euphemism for something else.
This is what happens when scary meets sexy.
Excited about the new season?
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[Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News (3)]
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Landed the regular role of Ben Lloyd on the long-running series, "A Country Practice"

Played the title character in the coming-of-age independent film, "American Brown"

Played a lead role in the horror movie, "Dead Silence"

Made film debut in "Signal One"

Made debut as a regular cast member in an American series on the WB's "Summerland"

Summary

Ryan Kwanten was very comfortable in his own skin, much to the delight of millions of viewers who tuned in each week to catch a glimpse of the actor's toned physique on HBO's vampire saga, "True Blood" (2008- ). Created by the award-winning director Alan Ball, the series was an intoxicating combination of blood and gore, Southern gothic melodrama, and sexually charged scenes. Kwanten was perfectly cast as the show's resident playboy whose ripped six-pack was always on full display - made necessary by his character's endless sexual conquests. As the series progressed, viewers watched his character slowly reveal his painful past, which gave Kwanten a chance to reveal a more vulnerable side. Kwanten received his start as a lifeguard on Australia's popular soap "Home and Away" (7 Network, 1988- ) before eventually starring in the family drama "Summerland" (The WB, 2004-05) as a surfer with Peter Pan syndrome. But it was his role in the gripping vampire series that put Kwanten on the Hollywood map.